And because I was a little bit crazy about the game and didn't know enough about what I was doing to know that I was going to do it poorly, I went ahead and did it. After pouring 100+ hours into the project, I then deleted all of my files accidentally. (Like I said, I didn't know what I was doing.) In all likelihood, the story should have ended there.
But it didn't.
I poured three years of on-and-off work into the project, getting it mostly runnable, and then I dropped it. Two years later, I picked it back up and spent half a year getting it in shape, and then I dropped it again.
Somehow, somewhere along the line, I made a version of FFT that you can play online. I made it support everything in the original game, then I made it support multiple teams, AI, and modding, and then I let it languish for five years.
It's time to bring it back.
Here's the plan:
- Move it to its own site. Currently, you need to be registered on Slime Salad to play the game, and it's tucked away in a portion of the site that is linked to from, like, my signature. Moving it to its own site will allow it to get more exposure and cut it free from the existing site.
- Fix it up. I did not know the first thing about web development when I started Mega Tact. The code is a mess, and it's a wonder that it works at all.
- Give it a fresh coat of paint. Oh yeah, and the front end needs work, too.
- Set up reminder emails. One major issue with Mega Tact as it exists now is that people weren't taking their turns. While that's not a terminal issue -- you can have the AI take turns for an inactive opponent -- it means people aren't coming back to the game. It needs to generate reminders in order to keep its userbase.
- Advertise the game. It needs a userbase to begin with.
- Open a Patreon. While I'm not quitting my day job to work on this, I've found that Patreon is a useful way of gauging actual interest in a project (not to mention paying hosting costs). In the (unlikely?) event that Mega Tact gains a large following, this would also fund a move to a dedicated server.
If you have any suggestions, questions, ideas, or comments, this is the thread for you. Please get excited for New Mega Tact!